On September 28, 2021, the Department of Diplomatic Representation [a Hamas Ministry of Interior and National Security (MoINS) unit] submitted a “report regarding the arrival of an EU delegation for economic recovery” to the Director of the Branch of Foreign Activities. The report provides information, following a visit of MoINS personnel to the offices of [NAME REDACTED], director of the EU offices in Gaza, on an EU delegation to Gaza, including security details and officials involved. 

The Arabic-language document originates from the Gaza Interior Security Mechanism (ISM),¹ a unit within the Hamas Ministry of Interior and National Security (MoINS). The document was removed from Gaza and then declassified by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

According to the report, “Mr. Sven [von Burgsdorff], the EU representative in the Palestinian territories, is a professional figure, and he strongly supports and sympathizes with the Palestinians. He is demanding [that the EU] open official channels to engage with Hamas, but the public policy of the EU dismisses this.” The report concludes that “The positive approach and inclinations of the EU representative to the Palestinian territories and his sympathy with the Palestinian cause are a personal approach and this might change when the current EU representative changes, since the European position is committed to the red lines of American policies. Thus, this positions him ([Sven von Burgsdorff)] under the requirements for any change in the manner of engaging with the [Gaza] government and the [Hamas] movement.” 

Hamas also claims, “The EU represented [sic] is hated by both the Israeli occupation and the Palestinian Authority, and this is because of his solidarity with the issue of Jerusalemite martyrs’ home destruction and because he expressed his sympathy following the killing of Nizar Banat (a harsh critic of the PA who died in PA custody) and demanded an investigation into his case.”

The report recommends “that the relevant parties exploit these delegations and strengthen relations with them under the goal of increasing coordination and communication with them, and in order to open relations with Palestinian political, governmental and [Hamas] movement parties.”

Note: Sven Kühn Von Burgsdoff served as Head of the EU Delegation to the West Bank and Gaza Strip in 2020-2023.

Previous statements by Sven Kühn Von Burgsdoff downplaying anti-terror efforts

• On March 30, 2020, von Burgsdorff sent a “clarification letter regarding the EU-funded contracts” to Palestinian NGO Network  (PNGO) – an umbrella organization of 135 Palestinian NGOs, which reportedly “refused to sign an EU grant request which stipulates among its criteria that beneficiaries must refuse to transfer any EU aid given to terrorist groups or entities.” In it, the EU diplomat stresses that “it is understood that a natural person affiliated to, sympathizing with, or supporting any of the groups or entities mentioned in the EU restrictive lists is not excluded from benefiting from EU-funded activities, unless his/her exact name and surname (confirming his/her identity) corresponds to any of the natural persons on the EU restrictive lists” (emphasis added). Moreover, the letter notes, “As far as Palestine is concerned, there are no Palestinian natural persons on the restrictive measures list, pursuant to Council Regulation 2580/2001.”
  • Disavowing the EU diplomat, on June 25, 2020, High Representative and Vice-President of the European Commission responded to a letter from a Member of the European Parliament (dated May 8, 2020), stating that “in addition, tender procedures and calls for proposals contain clear exclusion criteria that prevent any person or entity guilty of terrorism financing or terror related offences (including inciting, aiding, abetting or attempting to commit such offences) from receiving EU funds. Furthermore, specific clauses have been introduced in individual grant agreements, obliging every beneficiary managing EU funds to refrain from engaging in incitement to violence or hatred. These rules make the participation of entities, individuals or groups affiliated, linked to or supporting terrorist organisations incompatible with any EU funding” (emphasis added).
• In February 2022, von Burgsdorff participated in an EU-funded conference convened by PNGO that included a workshop “focused on the strategies and mechanisms needed to combat counter-terrorism policies, regulations, and policies (sic).”
• On December 8, 2021, von Burgsdorf met with the representatives of the 6 terror-designated Palestinian NGOs, conveying that the “EU will continue to stand by international law and support civil society organizations that have a role to play in promoting international law, human rights, and democratic values.” The NGOs were designated by Israel as terror entities over their links to the EU-designated PFLP terror group.
• In 2016, Mohammad El-Halabi, head of World Vision operations in Gaza, was arrested by Israel for diverting funds and materials to Hamas. According to court documents, Hamas had instructed El-Halabi to join World Vision, where he provided building materials for constructing and concealing military installations, including tunnels; procured weapons; collected intelligence on Israeli positions; diverted funds; hired Hamas members; and manipulated the World Vision tender process to benefit Hamas. Hamas documents (on file with NGO Monitor) corroborate el-Halabi’s identity as a Hamas operative, and detail the terror group’s efforts to delay and obstruct his trial. El-Halabi was convicted in June 2022 and was released in February 2025 as part of the Hamas-Israel agreement to free Israeli hostages held in Gaza.

During El-Halabi trial and after his conviction, EU Representation in the West Bank and Gaza and its representative, Sven Kühn von Burgsdorff, attempted at multiple times (see here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here) to undermine the validity of the trial procedure, accusing notably that the verdict was “incompatible with international fair trial standards.”

Other

In July 2023, von Burgsdorff went paragliding off the coast of Gaza to raise awareness for a “Free Palestine.” In a response to a EU Parliamentary question, the EU Commission acknowledged that “No approval was sought from Headquarters [EU] for the paragliding action…Headquarters therefore does not have any detailed knowledge about the equipment used for this activity beyond the fact that Mr Kühn von Burgsdorff removed it from Gaza immediately after his flight. Mr Kühn von Burgsdorff is no longer employed by the European External Action Service.”